A splendid display of talent

Christ University recently welcomed the season of hope and goodwill in a grand manner.

The seventh season of ‘Magnificat: A Song of Hope’, a two-day festival of music that hosts choirs from all over the country, saw a great response and enthusiasm from both the audience and the participants.

The two days saw around 17 choirs present a good blend of classical and contemporary Christmas harmonies, that catered to an audience of all ages.
What was really interesting about the concert was the fact that it was a non-competitive one. Sherin Jacob, who directs the Christ University Choir, says, “The festival is held once a year. We invite many choirs to share the stage to spread the message of Christmas. It’s wonderful to see so much talent come under one roof.”

The festival saw college choirs like the Mount Carmel College Choir, Jyoti Nivas PU College Choir, Jyoti Nivas College Choir, St Joseph’s College of Commerce and St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science and the three college choirs from Christ University itself. Other choirs that took part were ‘The Korean Community Choir’, ‘Shine Children’s Choir’, ‘Harmony School of Music’, ‘Mar Thoma Primrose Road Church’, ‘Jnyanodaya’, ‘Mar Thimotheus Church Choir’, ‘The Chariots - Pune’, ‘Christalaya Koramangala’, ‘Richmond Town Methodist Church Choir’ and ‘The Bangalore Conservatory Concert Choir’.

Both the days were kickstarted by the Christ University choirs. Carols and songs like ‘O Holy Night’, ‘Glory to God’, ‘Sussex Carol’, ‘Beneath the Waters’, ‘Emmanuel’, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and the most popular ‘Silent Night’ filled the auditorium and the audience only wanted more. Pallavi, a student who had come for the festival, says that she was delighted with all the performances. “The songs really had a different energy altogether. There was no one favourite choir — in fact, there were many,” she adds.

People even liked the fact that there was a lot of variety and no repetition in the performances.

Every little detail was looked into, be it the decor, the costumes or even the way the song was presented. Alan, who had come with his family for the festival, says that this was his second visit to the festival. “December is such a festive month and ‘Magnificat’ really kickstarts the season with great gusto. It’s nice to see even college choirs do such a professional job,” he adds.